saying like it is

The Socialist Party of Great Britain have a clear analysis on the cause of wars . Many wars have appeared on superficial examination to be primarily religious, while others have been excused on the ground of maintaining national prestige but the Socialist Party maintain that all wars are to-day carried on in the interests of commerce. It appears that our case is supported by no other than the now ex-president of Germany.

The German president , former head of the International Monetary Fund, Horst Köhler announced his resignation in response to criticism of comments he made about Germany's military mission in Afghanistan.

The president had become the target of intense criticism following remarks he made during a surprise visit to soldiers of the Bundeswehr German army in Afghanistan. In an interview with a German radio reporter who accompanied him on the trip, he seemed to justify his country's military missions abroad with the need to protect economic interests.

"A country of our size, with its focus on exports and thus reliance on foreign trade, must be aware that ... military deployments are necessary in an emergency to protect our interests -- for example when it comes to trade routes, for example when it comes to preventing regional instabilities that could negatively influence our trade, jobs and incomes," Köhler said.

That sounded as though Köhler was justifying wars for the sake of economic interests, in the context of the Afghan mission which is highly controversial in Germany and throughout Europe.